#.....this was more than tidbits... apologies! it will happen again.

[hershelwidget]

I TOLD Y'ALL IT WAS COMING

Behold! My designs for Arman and Beast!

This took a while for me to get around to posting, honestly because I kept being bothered by their proportions... But then I remembered that it doesn't matter :)

Arman possesses the Gup-A, while Beast has the Gup-B! Their designs borrow heavily from their main drivers and are probably the most obvious of the batch, haha-

Face closeups!

I've decided that y'all can use any of these as icons, but please credit me if you do!

Next up will be Caleb and Darwin, who's beta designs I might share earlier... I am gonna be working on them all through the weekend so look forward to that :D

[meowzfordayz]

hashira accidentally touch your chest

Author’s Note: pls and ty enjoy this tidbit of crack-fluff. 😆💖

hashira accidentally touch your chest

Hashira x Reader

Word Count: ~1,600

CW: explicit language, Fem!Reader, mild sexual content

Suggestion Fulfilled: Can we get all hashira accidently touch y/n's breast

~faqs~

Fyi, “chest” means boob. I was just worried Tumblr would block this post from tags if I included “boob” in the title lmao. 😉

Shocked 😳😖

“I apologize, [y/n]-san, it won’t happen again!”

Gyomei’s nearly in tears, he feels so terribly 😞

“These things happen!” you promptly assure him, “Besides, you technically won the bout.”

No need to mention that he always wins when training together 🥲

“I cannot accept such a tainted victory.”

“Himejima-san, though I appreciate your concern and respect, there’s truly no issue.”

Meanwhile, Gyomei’s rethinking his entire Breathing Style to ensure he never accidentally touches anyone’s boob(s) again 💀 

In cold disbelief 😐😐😐

If you don’t say anything, then he won’t say anything

Alternatively, if you do say something, then Obanai will immediately curl up into a ball and die

Spends the rest of his day recalling the fleeting warmth of your breast

He swears his hand doesn’t even get cold, so affected by the heat of your bosom

Your boob must be ✨magical✨

“Iguro-san,” you call out gently, noting his dazed stare, his dinner untouched while he sits crossed legged, “Is something on your mind?”

“No.” 😐😐😐

Well okay then 🙃

“About what happened earlier…”

🫨🫨🫨 <— Obanai is FREAKING OUT

“… Iguro-san, I didn’t mind.”

And then you stand up, take your dishes, and leave

WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEEEAAAN?!?!?!

Good luck finding Obanai tomorrow 🫡 (the poor man’s been pleasantly overwhelmed)

He’ll avoid you for eternity now 😌 (not really, but at least until he can breathe around you again)

She giggles 🤭

Lol

“Oh my! [y/n]-san, I didn’t mean to touch you so intimately!” 😅

“No worries, it happens.”

Your face may or may not be burning up a storm, but that’s okay!

Mitsuri’s blushing too

A lot 😳

“I hope I didn’t hurt you?!”

Because like, What if I gripped too hard?! 😭

She’s well aware of her own strength

“You barely brushed me, Kanroji-san. I promise!”

Phew!

She grins, relief evident as she bumps her elbow against yours

“Don’t tell anyone, okay? I would be so embarrassed!!!”

“Kanroji-san, our secret is safe with me.”

I wish it would happen again… <— lowkey both of you thinking the same thing 🤪

As a medical personnel (among other roles), Shinobu accidentally (or even on purpose, depending on where you’re wounded) touching your boob isn’t entirely unreasonable nor unrealistic

Obviously it would be nicer if she was caressing you out of love and affection 😔

And not methodically cleansing then bandaging claw marks that just so happened to cross over your chest 😒

“You should make a full recovery,” she’s all business, “The demon avoided your nipple and didn’t puncture deep enough to affect the functionality of your breast,” fortunately, you’re too exhausted to be embarrassed by her bluntness, “It has a nice shape. I’m glad you survived.”

EXCUSE ME WHAT?!?!?! 😃🫠

Now you’re kinda embarrassed

More so preening, really 🤭

It’s like when a doctor randomly compliments the rhythm of your heart or some other characteristic from a mainly professional POV, but you’re still caught off guard because who tf compliments someone’s kidneys or bowels movements or?????

In your pain hazed delusion, you briefly contemplate somehow getting your other boob injured too… gotta make sure you’re matching in (nice) shape, y’know? 😌

Kyojuro can be discreet, albeit more so for your sake than his

“I APOLOGIZE! I DID NOT MEAN TO TOUCH YOUR BREAST!” <— how he could react 💀

“Pardon my slip, are you okay?” <— how he actually reacts, because he isn’t entirely lacking in social awareness and decorum 😆

“Oh,” you don’t mean to squeak, but it can’t be helped when the most handsome man you’ve ever known just casually grazed your boob, “I’m fine! Totally fine! Haha!” 🫨😵‍💫🫠

You’ve gotta be more convincing than that, or Kyojuro will never forgive himself 😕

He’s a lil oblivious when it comes to physical attraction

Not like, infantly so, but given this particular circumstance?

He doesn’t realize you’re flustered; he assumes you’re mortified 😖

“You sound decidedly less than fine.”

He’s softer now, worried about startling you 🥺

“I was surprised! But don’t worry! I’m not worried!”

Okaaay, but he’s worried 🥲

“Is there any way I could make amends for my indiscretion?”

Not only is he handsome, but he is such a gentleman 😭😍

“Rengoku-san, there are no amends to be made, I promise. I’m not mad, nor do I feel unhappy or unsafe. I forgive you.”

Your regaining of the ability to speak in complete sentences greatly reassures him 😮‍💨😁

“Ah. Well. I am grateful for your kindness and understanding. It will not happen again.”

…

…

Hold up 🧐

Why does she seem… she seems… disappointed? Should I have said it will happen again??

You’ve suddenly given Kyojuro something quite pleasant to ponder 🤔

After all, he isn’t entirely oblivious 😉

“Are you going to apologize?” Sanemi demands

“For what?” you screech

“For touching my hand with your boob!”

Your eyes roll, “Oh fuck off!”

“I didn’t ask to touch you,” he grunts

“I wouldn’t have given you permission anyway,” you retort 😒

Arms crossing over his bare chest, Sanemi scoffs, “Well I didn’t give mine either!”

“You’re ridiculous. It was an accident.”

You seem genuinely pissed 😬

Sanemi rethinks his approach

“You know I’m joking, right?” 😅

“Nooo,” your sarcasm cuts deep, “I thought you were flirting.” 😐

Uh 😀

Well 😃

Shit 😄

“Fuck you!” 

When in doubt, curse ‘em out 💀

You scowl, confusion lingering as your blood boils, “Fuck you!”

“I said it first.” 🙄

You stalk away, fed up with his antics

#man child #sort of #romantically inept is more like it

As tends to happen with epiphanies, yours doesn’t hit until you’re almost asleep

“WAS THAT MOTHERFUCKER FLIRTING WITH ME???!” 😳🥴😭

Best believe Shinazugawa Sanemi is about to have a Lesson 101 in flirting asap 😤😎

(assuming you’re older, like, mentor age to Muichiro)

Neither of you make a fuss about it

It’s like accidentally calling your teacher mom 😬

Or grabbing a random person’s hand in the supermarket thinking they’re your parent ���

Embarrassing, but not a huge deal — unless you make it one

There’re those three seconds of slow motion Uhh and What just happened and Oops 🫠

And then time speeds up to normal again, you have a quick conversation with your eyes (gosh forbid you speak and bring the unspoken into reality 💀), and it’s over

^^ Alternatively, if Muichiro initiates a conversation to clear the air, then you’re able to have a mature and concise chat that is respectfully and patiently resolved

Embarrassing/accidental encounters are part of growing up

As long as they can be navigated ~safely, there shouldn’t be any lasting harm

⚠️I also want to emphasize that I am talking solely on inarguably accidental/one time incidences⚠️

Hehehe

Giyuu’s hand is stuck 🫣

Only for like, a fleeting second

But omg 😭

He was already embarrassed, and now he’s triply embarrassed 🫠🫠🫠

“... Tomioka-san?”

You won’t lie; you aren’t especially bothered 🤭

But it is a compromising position to be caught in; Giyuu lowkey crushing you, one of his palms clearly cupping your boob 😬

#wrestling #or something #so maybe this isn’t super realistic #forgive me

You’re about to repeat his name when he finally springs to life, immediately rolling off you, standing abruptly, about to literally sprint away

And then he remembers his manners 🙃

He offers you a hand

His other hand; his boob hand is currently tucked away in his haori

He’s never washing it again

#closet perv

“Thanks,” you smile faintly, accepting his assistance as you lift yourself from the ground

You hope he can’t hear your heartbeat 💓

He definitely can 😶

But can you hear his?

“I don’t think we should train together anymore.”

Giyuu is swift and harsh with his solutions

“Why?”

Your question comes out stiffer than intended

He hesitates, unable to interpret the fear in your tone — the longing

“I always beat you,” he explains lamely, “Don’t you get tired of losing?”

You scoff cheerfully, grinning now as you squeeze his hand

Fuck, we were still holding hands?! <— Giyuu is in shambles 😳

“I could never lose!” you declare, feelings brimming in your throat, spilling onto your tongue, “Not when I’m with you.”

Then we should absolutely stop training together would be the responsible reaction

Attachments are the most dangerous game for a Hashira to play 😕

Instead, Giyuu’s rendered speechless, unable to shake his hand from yours

“Well alright then,” he mutters, stomach churning as he narrowly avoids the warmth in your gaze

In fact, you swear he squeezes back 💓

“EXCUSE ME! I HAVE A WIFE!” 😤😤😤

“You have three wives.” 🙄

Sputtering, Tengen shrieks, “I already have plenty of breasts to touch!” 

“Tengen,” you glare, not one to back down as you jab a finger into his own chest, “You touched my boob.” 😒

“AND I’M SORRY!” 😭

Much better 😌

“I don’t know what they see in you,” you scoff (you’re also lying, you can see plenty🤭), “They’re gorgeous… and you freak out when you accidentally touch a boob.” 💀

Tengen is 100% pouting now

“I don’t freak out when I touch their boobs,” he huffs

“Well aren’t they lucky.” 😐

“You could be lucky too!”

…

…

Tengen starts running 

You give chase

“DID YOU TALK TO THEM ABOUT THIS?” 

Tengen runs faster

“TENGEN!!!!!”

Tengen runs faster and faster

You give up

*insert gasping for air here*

“DO YOUR WIVES KNOW THEY’RE MARRIED TO A COWARD???!!!”

Oh well, you’ll have to visit their estate sometime this week 🙃

You’re sure to get an answer from Hina, Makio, and Suma ☺️

And you can’t wait to see more of Tengen 😏😋

Sorry, sometimes the horny just happens 🥴

[pensbridge]

Master Post Bridgerton Live Event Season 3

Let me just say so much of what they said leans into exactly how I pictured it.

○ Some words to describe the season: Shonda-"intimate" / Jess B-"confidence" / Luke Newts-"unexpected" / Nicola-"romantic" / Luke Thom-"zoom in"

○ They talk about Colin's words last season and say it was a good place to start in the story/journey; confirm apology will come

○ Pen has 1 main suitor besides Colin who takes a real interest in her (Spoiler: it's Lord Debling)

○ Julia Quinn said it is a good friends to lovers story. She sounded so excited!

○ Someone (either Shonda, Julia or Jess) said they have some good awkward banter.

○ Julia Quinn really confirmed the Colin-Pen hand scene (1st real emotional and physically intimate scene for them)

○ How Jess B talks about Colin (again) gives me hope for his personal journey-mentioned about the 3rd son "not knowing his place in the world" & more

○ Protective El of Colin confirmed (we get El and Colin scenes), but she still loves Pen; Luke N. called it a non-romantic love triangle between the 3

○ Benedict takes roles of Anthony; he can fall into different roles very well, but who is he and what does he want?

○ Will and Alice acquire a new title this season; Martins talked about how they are "drawn out of the shadows"

○ Adjoa talked about how Lord Ledger affected her; called that romance "life-changing"; QCABS enriched Lady Danbury story coming into season 3

○ Lady D. personal journey-she's "shook" at an arrival that happens 👀

○ Golda-How do you do private intimacy in the view of the public (George and QC)? / she loves the Brimsley relationship

○ When talking about QC picking the diamond of the season said she's bored of what's going on and is "searching for something different"

○ [Other tidbit-they're hosting a Bridgerton wedding for a lucky real-life couple.]

○ Shonda quote about Bridgerton always "finding a way to give female characters agency" and Pen has a good way of coming into this in this season

○ Nicola-"so much happens" in their story

○ They talked about how the show has changed their lives-Claudia said she always walks away proud of what she's done and essentially there's not one part of the job she's unsatisfied with. aww; Adjoa said "a space for everyone"

○ Season 3 is "for the wallflowers"- Adjoa [they mentioned this a lot; the interaction on this between Adjoa and Nicola just made it seem like there is Lady Danbury-Pen relationship]

○ Nic and Newts recreated the pic in the mirror with candle stick!! what?! / They also watch fan edits and send them to each other

○ Easter egg in almost every episode according to Jess B. and they are "raising the bar on visuals"- "even brighter and more spectacular than ever"

○ Superlatives: most like character-Luke Newton; least-Golda; most bloopers-Johnny Bailey or Claudia (and I think she was offended at first, lol)

○ Chaos in Featherington fam because Pen steps out (Portia doesn't like when Pen changes from her citrus dresses)

○ Nicola "didn't expect to be as emotional as it was" from the first 2 episode screening

○ Adjoa said things will make you laugh then quickly after cry

○ Claudia said people make mistakes and people fall..., etc.

○ Theme: "Find your light." -Jess B.

○ The line in QCABS "We are untold stories" is what this season is about

[littlespacereader]

It said writing prompts were open, I just read Little Spidey and fell in love with the idea of Hobie being my cg. Would you be able to do a thing where the reader and Pav have a little time playdate with Hobie as cg/babysitter? Please and thank you ❤️

AHHHHHHHH!!!! SO CUTE!! I apologize for this being on the short side. I kind of got some writers block with this fic, but I’m happy with how it came out!! I really hope you enjoy it!! Thank you for the request!!!

The Tea Party☕️🫖

Caregiver! Hobie Brown, Little! Pavitr Prabhakar & GN Little! Reader (SFW!)

Tags - tea party, spilling the tea (littles gossip about stuffies), naps, and hugs

Hobie was more than excited to have one of his best friends here with his little one, especially since they’re both Littles.

In the past Hobie was always Pav’s go to babysitter for when he regressed and was away from his Caregiver Gayatri aka his girlfriend. Now add Y/N, Hobie’s Little to the mix and you have a recipe that was made in heaven.

Y/N was practically bouncing off the walls waiting for Pav to show up. They couldn’t wait. They already had everything set up for Pav! Their play table was already set up with their plastic tea set, Mr. Bear was already dressed up for the event and so was Y/N.

Hobie decided to get on top of things before he got there. So he was in the kitchen making food and snack for the Littles. While he did, Y/N would periodically check in on him.

“Is he here yet?”

“Not yet love but soon I imagine.” His eyes glanced to the clock. “Actually he should be here anyyyyy….”

DING DONG

“…minute.”

Y/N screamed and ran across the small flat to the front door, waiting for Hobie to join them.

Hobie walked over and opened the front door letting in an excited and fancy dressed Pav, all ready for the tea party.

Immediately he hugged Hobie, “Thank you for having me over again!!”

Then he went and hugged Y/N, “I can’t wait for our tea party!!”

Once they broke apart, Y/N took his hand and the two ran into Y/N’s room while the adults talked about boring Caregiver stuff.

Inside Y/N’s room was a small table set up with the works! Little plastic saucers, plastic tea cups, small plastic spoon and more. Chairs circled around the table, some filled with stuffies and other empty for the two of them.

“Please take your seat!” Y/N offered, before grabbing a chair themselves.

“No please! Allow me,” Pav grabbed the chair and pulled it out for Y/N to sit. They giggled as they took a seat and had Pav push them in.

“Thank you good sir!” Y/N added.

“My pleasure.” Pav replied, taking a seat himself.

Hobie walked into the room, hands full of food. “Look alive everyone! I have some snacks for you rascals.”

Hobie made a wonderful set up for the two of them. Mini sandwiches, some crackers, and more. All their favorites set up on a little platter.

He left for a moment only to return with their tea pot. They both too regressed for actual hot tea so instead Hobie brewed the teas cold so that if they spilled it or went to sip it they would burn themselves.

“Alright,” Hobie clapped, “I’ll be in the living room if you two need anything. Enjoy the tea party.” He winked before leaving.

Then the tea party commenced!! The two took some snacks and Pav had the honor of pouring each party guest their cup of tea.

“Thank you good sir.” Y/N said taking a sip of their tea.

“My pleasure!” Pav smiled back, pouring a cup for himself.

The two of them began talking about everything! From drama between their stuffies, to what missions they’ve been on in the last few days, to random tidbits about their favorite tv shows.

“Have you heard what happened to fluffy last week?!” Pav pointed to his rabbit.

“No! What happened?!”

“She was bouncing to the store when she fell down a storm drain and almost got washed away!!”

Y/N gasped! “That’s horrible!!”

“I know! She smelled like trash afterwards too.” Pav laughed, Y/N joined him. “But thankfully she took a bath and now she’s okay.”

“There’s a scandal going on in my room! Mr. Waddles broke up with his girlfriend Mindy and now he’s going out with her sister!”

Now Pav gasped, “WHAT. A. SCANDAL!”

They just talked for hours. But then it got quiet for a while. That worked up Hobie’s ears. Hobie, who was sitting in the living room tuning his guitar, decided to check on his now very quiet Littles. What he found was an adorable sight.

Pav and Y/N slept peacefully beside one another in Y/N crib. Both still dressed fancy with their fancy dressed stuffies around. Hobie could help but smile.

He grabbed a blanket and wrapped the two up in it. With a kiss to each of their head he turned off the lights and turned on the night lights.

I guess you could say the tea party was a major success!

[mundanemodulus]

in the spirit of living like jordaiden has a thriving 2010s tumblr era following, I felt compelled to fill out a ship meme for them...

cleaner crop, more insights, and a blank template under the cut xoxo

Age/Height

JORDI'S AGE/HEIGHT NEVER GET REVEALED!!!! I just made it up based on what my heart wanted, and my heart wants Jordi to both be slightly taller and a little older than Aiden bc it makes for a cuter dynamic. Annoying old man bothers similarly old, but slightly younger, man.

How it Happens

I don't think either of them fully intend for it to happen, nor does it happen particularly quickly because, in Scotty's words:

“What is it about your generation? Why can’t you just talk to one another?”

Jordi inadvertently trips face first into having Genuine Feelings for Aiden because for some inexplicable reason, he cannot stay away from Aiden for long. He makes excuses for himself all the time but we all know what he is (🌈🌈).

Aiden is slightly different in that he doesn't actively try to create opportunities to see Jordi... it just so... happens to work out... their schedules align and Jordi crashes into his life... or something goes sideways and he needs Jordi's help... and then post Legion DLC he gets his fanfic-esque "Oh" moment.

Handling Conflict

RESIDENT SHIT STIRRER JORDI REPORTING IN. HE LITERALLY TRIED TO KILL AIDEN LMFAO. He moved on real quick from the attempt too LOL, bro doesn't take anything That Seriously. He's not always difficult for difficult's sake though—Jordi and Aiden have frequent ideological disagreements but I imagine that time tempers them both... and in the end, Jordi goes where Aiden does...

And we know how Aiden feels about disagreements. He still hangs on to Lena's death and pursues revenge rather doggedly... also, I think it's really funny if he just keeps bringing up the fact that Jordi tried to kill him Once. Aiden isn't completely conflict averse though and we see him butt heads quite a few times in the Stars and Stripes novel.

Relationship Attitude

ok. so Jordi has a reputation of being a hotshot playboy that never commits to anything and strings all his lovers along bc commitment isn't really his style. UNTIL AIDEN.

Jordi forgets all about his flings and somehow falls FACE FIRST into monogamy bc all he thinks of anymore is Aiden and the only person he booty calls is Aiden. So yes, he is Very Committed to Aiden EVEN IF HE TELLS HIMSELF HE ISN'T.

Aiden is... Aiden. He's never letting Jordi go.

Attachment

this one is funny to me bc I KNOW Jordi doesn't think himself as being protective of Aiden AND YET HE COMES RUNNING BACK TO SAVE AIDEN AT THE VERY END OF THE BOOK, AND THREATENS WRENCH DURING LEGION WHEN HE THINKS HE'S HOLDING AIDEN HOSTAGE.

Aiden is once again Aiden. I don't think Jordi can top that. We saw the lengths he went to protect Nicky and avenge Lena.

First to apologize after a fight

Jordi's pride is riding on the line at all times and he doesn't think he's wrong most of the time LMFAOOOO so Aiden usually ends up apologizing first... <3

The best caregiver when the other is sick

Jordi simultaneously has horrific and amazing bedside manners. Aiden is pretty consistently pleasant though... and it comes from caring for Nicky when she was sick, and then later Jackson and Lena when they got sick...

Designated driver

they both fight over this one tbh LMFAOOO Jordi does most of the driving in the novel but I just knooooooow Aiden hates being a passenger princess if he can help it... same thing for Jordi... both just feel more at Control when they're the one behind the wheel

(drunk or otherwise)

Sensitive to changes in their partner

The entire novel is a WEALTH of tidbits where Jordi and Aiden just Wordlessly Understand each other. They know what the other is thinking, how they operate, what they want, and so so much more GOD I CANNOT GET OVER IT THEY'RE OPEN BOOKS TO EACH OTHER

The one who proposes

Jordi "I have nightmarish commitment issues the likes of no one you've ever known before" Chin struggles to say "I love you" let alone "Will you marry me?" so the responsibility falls on Aiden both times HAHAHAH the proposal happens post legion, btw <3

Template:

[tangledbea]

I found this interesting post talking about Varians' age and the general series timeline.

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/rachelbethhines/623037451732123648/tangled-timeline?source=share

There are some interesting tidbits, and I have questions about a few of them. The OP references Varians fanon birthday of March 24, which makes sense when discussing Varians' age, but they also reference Rapunzel having a fanon birthday of May 12th. I know about the Varian birthday headcanon, but is this a common birthday headcanon for Rapunzel? If not your headcanon of the summer solstice, I would've figured people would headcanon her birthday being in July or August because it is canonically in summer. If it is a common headcanon, why May? Isn't that a bit early?

It also talks about S3s timeline a lot, particularly Coronan holidays that happened more than once in the series. The post says the day of hearts is 6 months after Rapunzels birthday, yet it's just a few episodes after Rapunzels return (the S3 premiere may not have involved Rapunzels birthday, but it definitely happened arounf that time.) I can explain the S1 goodwill festival happening 6 months after Rapunzels 18th birthday and S2 goodwill festival happening a few weeks after her 19th because it wasn't the real Coronan event, it was something Rapunzel planned in Varados. But the other holiday discrepancies can't be explained this way. So this post says S3 takes place over 2 years instead of 1 like the other seasons. It also says "the series creators" said 4 seasons were originally planned instead of 3. This is why S3 is theorized to take place over 2 years. Thus, due to this extra year, Varian would be 17-18 at the end of S3, not 16-17, as many people think. It would end on Rapunzels 22nd birthday, not her 21st. But is this true? Were 4 seasons originally planned? Was S3 meant to be 2 years instead of 1 as a result?

Also, sorry again if this is really long.

(Lately, I've been finding myself apologizing a lot at the end of these long asks, ever since you said you were gonna turn off anon. I don't even know why I'm apologizing, I know you don't mind...)

Let's tackle this one question at a time.

If you Google Rapunzel's birthday, you'll get May 12th. This is because someone at some point read the star charts she painted on her ceiling in the movie to determine her birthday and decided it meant her birthday was May 12th (for some reason -- I can't read star charts, so I have no idea how they're getting that). I, frankly, like my headcanon for her birthday much more and completely ignore the May 12th thing. It's not her official birthday, though, any more than the summer solstice is.

No one who worked on the series ever said the series was going to be four seasons. No one. Ever. At some point, towards the end of season three, people started saying there would be a season four, partly because they really wanted one (even though it had only ever been planned to be three seasons), and likely partly because originally the series was announced to have more episodes than it ended up having. I more than covered in my FAQ why this is. And therefore, S3 was not meant to take place over the course of two years. S1 is six months, S2 is (approximately) one year, and S3 is (approximately) one year when you include the epilogue (even though we don't know how long after the end of the episode the epilogue takes place). Varian is 14-15 in S1, 15-16 in S2 and 16-17 in S3. Or, alternately, he might be 13-14 in S1, 14-15 in S2 and 15-16 in S3. After all, we don't know when his birthday is, and since the series begins six months after Rapunzel's return, we don't know if his birthday falls before or after hers in the calendar year.

As for the inconsistencies of the holidays, have people even seen the writing of that show? It's inconsistent. They literally do what they want when they want. Maybe the Day of Hearts is based on a lunar cycle, rather than on a day on the calendar, and so the date it falls on fluctuates. Maybe the episodes aired out of order (some of them definitely did). There is definitely an inconsistent amount of time between episodes. It's not like one episode takes place every two weeks.

Maybe the fans just put more thought into it than the writers did.

[infernaltenor]

been losing my mind reading hsr posts online again so you get a jade analysis 👍

yes i KNOW evil woman. we're not going down that path rn. i know shes morally dubious and all shades of suspicious and works for the fucking ipc. i KNOW.

i'm here because i believe she has been misattributed like crazy.

a) the aventurine relationship. we already know this one. any good analysis on them will tell you clearly that aventurine made both the bet and the deal. what happens after is between two adults. (and yes, i'll give points that jade is a manipulative bastard, but so is aventurine. he works for the same fucking company. they do the same assignments.) anyway, i'm not really in the mood to rehash jade and aventurine's misinterpreted relationship beyond this: aventurine made the choice to make a deal with jade and start working for the ipc. in fact he wanted to meet with diamond, but didn't, which is a fascinating little tidbit. i digress. it's easy to say "jade manipulated aventurine into working as a stoneheart" but reanalyzing the scene will make it clear that she distinctly both didn't manipulate him (into that, anyway), and made a direct deal with his gamble. honestly, they both have similar strategies. hey, i wonder if this will come up later 🤔

b) the topaz relationship. i'm sorry, but there is absolutely no way jade singlehandedly made sure topaz didn't see any atrocities committed by the ipc in her entire life. are you fucking insane? topaz grew up on an ipc controlled planet, likely surrounded by ipc propaganda the whole time. along with this, topaz has nine other colleagues in the stonehearts (eight if you don't count jade) and more than likely hundreds or thousands of coworkers. this cannot fall solely on jade's shoulders as to why topaz doesn't fucking know the scope of the ipc. this falls onto "topaz grew up on a planet controlled by them, and more importantly, a planet surviving by the ipc." you can even contrast this with aventurine, who grew up on a planet with ipc agents; but unlike topaz, aventurine's planet had a vastly different result, including the massacre of his people. both of these are facts that have very little to do with jade. her having introduced and directly hired topaz and aventurine into the stonehearts is a different fucking issue, don't go confusing them. you will not survive the winter. i will kill you. ok. that wasn't necessary. i apologize.

c) so why is jade the way that she is? well, i'm delving into theory territory here but i have two main strands. one, all of the stonehearts have similar stories, something i cannot confirm without more of them, but i am of the opinion that all of them distinctly are "something that they don't want to be." two, i think i know who jade was before she was jade. ok let's get into this.

the stonehearts being "something that they don't want to be." well, this is obvious with aventurine, as he is actively working for the ipc. there's a lot to be attributed with his self destruct personality and tendency to gamble everything ever, but i'm really not an aventurine fan so i'm not here to overanalyze him. plus, i'm confident it's been said before (side note: if you're interested in a decent aventurine analysis that looks at misinformation, i found this one pretty good). topaz is another pretty obvious idea, seen as everyone is confident she doesn't know the scope of the ipc's atrocities. i cannot fact check this but i vaguely remember her introductory event, so i'll concede that point. topaz distinctly doesn't know what she's getting into, meaning that i'm characterizing her as "a good person, naive, hasn't had her world shattered" or something along those lines. and now you ask the question: but tenor, what about jade? she CAN'T be like that, haven't you seen her manipulate the shit out of people?

well. now i give you who i think jade WAS. in jade's character stories, there's a jewelry merchant from a failing system who goes to the bonajade exchange. interestingly, jade isn't mentioned at all in her first character story, as it focuses on the merchant. even stranger, the deal ends with the jewelry merchant being contractually obligated to work for the ipc, for life (this section ends with "give your everything to the ipc" <- paraphrased, but still). essentially, for the hope that her system will be saved, the merchant gives her everything. the second story is where jade shows up. i believe the original owner of the bonajade exchange would have been diamond. i also believe that jade didn't originally have the snake. as jade only shows up in her second character story, it's my opinion that jade is that jewelry merchant. her system is, incidentally, destroyed, as it hadn't survived, something that is also mentioned in her character stories. this wouldn't matter if it didn't have something to do with her. another trait that i feel doesn't line up with popular interpretations is, well, her lightcone. "yet hope is priceless," being the name and the image/description describes her (implied) common visits/donations to an orphanage. she is actively making sure the orphanage stays afloat. jade distinctly makes deals with adults and, more importantly, gives them directly what the owe, yet doesn't discourage them from making deals with her. i believe she doesn't expand this to children, especially not the ones she's fucking donating to the orphanage for. more so, jade's lightcone name, "yet hope is priceless," makes no fucking sense with her character, someone who typically puts a price on everything. the only way it makes sense is if she had hope at one point or another. if she was the jewelry merchant, bargaining to save her home (this also lines up, imo, with jade's heavy focus on jewelry motifs. i believe she has that because she used to sell it; which would also make sense why she has "a planet" as a bracelet, though i'm of the opinion that that's a metaphor).

ok so how does that connect with the first point. weeeeeeeell, if we're going off of "jade is the jewelry merchant, and the jewelry merchant made a deal to work for the ipc to save her home system," this is very distinctly a deal that didn't work. i do think that jade inherited the bonajade exchange and the snake from someone else. i also think that jade originally had hopes similar to say, aventurine or topaz, when she joined. jade, in my opinion, is a character who joined originally to help people ("yet hope is priceless"), yet lost herself in her work, culminating in the manipulative bastard we see now. i don't think this end point was where she wanted to be. given the fact that, if this is true, all three stonehearts we've seen in game occupy similar stories, i wouldn't be surprised if this pattern keeps up. it's literally the classic "live long enough to see yourself become the villain." topaz and aventurine get so victimized in analyses that people do not take the time to compare them with jade, and yet all three are more similar than people want to admit.

ok well, that was a lot of theory writing. to tell you the truth, i think this is way more interesting than simply writing jade off as "completely evil woman," which i'm not sorry about. she's an interesting character! it's just that she owns her employment to the ipc in a vastly different way to topaz and aventurine, meaning that she's easier to look at as distinctly evil. not to mention, her theming being very "snake in the garden of eden." but i digress. this was a lot more than what i intended to write LMAO if you read this far i'm kissing you on the mouth or whatever.

[the-owl-tree]

I think Shadowsight’s story was more of a tragedy with him living because he never got actual closure for the shit he went thru. A half-assed “apology” from pretty much the whole damn forest except for his parents who wanted him punished for being manipulated and abused and some (Lionblaze) even wanting him dead iirc?? And he just? Clocked in to work the next day like nothing happened and kept being a medicine cat? He got the bad ending actually imo. I don’t like Shadowsight bc I’m tired of “the most specialist uwu sad softboi #8763” being churned out in the series but at least he’s compelling unlike Alderheart, Rootspring and Nightheart and his story is one most people wanted to see end well after all the horrific abuse he faced. But it didn’t? It felt… empty and mean spirited? Which isn’t new for the Erins but usually they do it to women so nobody gaf. Idk I just felt like especially the other medicine cats should have done more to atone for their cruelty. They’re all comrades under the same oath yet they were so fucking awful and treated him at best like a useless nuisance and at worst an enemy. Shadowsight literally ate deathberries out of desperation for an answer that would appease everyone and it’s so obviously a suicide attempt but brushed out to fit the narrative. He deserved better and it was genuinely disappointing that nothing else was done. “Oh Shadowsight, you ARE useful!! Yes you’re allowed to sit with us again. Huh? Apologize? For what” <- Mothwing probably

I feel like him going onto become a bg character with no baring on the main plot and his only acknowledgements are characters going "there's that dumbass who released cat satan" is just. not the plot I think people would have wanted from the guy who played TBC's punching bag for six books straight lol side note....i miss when side characters/bg characters got to have stories and tidbits. Mousewhisker having a crush on Minnowpaw...Spiderleg and Daisy's whole thing....we used to have interesting casts :(

I quite like Shadowsight, I think he stands out from the other examples by actually being strange and offputting. He does weird things and characters comment on his appearance and intimidating looks, makes me actually understand and empathize with his "outsider" status, ya know? Also thanks to osmosis from my mutuals he's a girl to me so there's that lol I think him being so put down by others (facing actual adversity) makes him interesting and my irritation with that comes from the story trying to "both sides" it rather than acknowledge the wider array of issues at hand. I don't think an apology is necessarily needed, I just kind of like narrative acknowledgement. But I'd need to reread TBC for a more succinct argument (i wanna reread tbc anyways, i just need time lol maybe when im bored on campus i'll do it)

I wouldn't call the deathberry thing a suicide attempt, though you could arguably make the interpretation that it is a cry for help in some regards; I think that just wasn't the authorial intent. I do agree he deserved better, it's a bit disappointing how we haven't gotten to see him more :( where is my Shadow and Frost bonding moments :(

[azsazz]

Hi, me again. Sorry if this is annoying. I wrote you the message about how the past two parts haven’t been hitting that you just replied to and I was actually really nervous to send it. I know you’ve gotten some feedback that was absolutely not helpful at all (and downright disrespectful imo) and I’ve been thinking ever since you got that feedback to try to put into words why the past two parts felt off to me.

I think the story is pretty strong, actually. The characters feel real and distinctive from each other, the plot flows well. I just think the weakest part is we see a ton of angsty Azriel prior to him and reader getting together, but we don’t really see him have good interactions with those around him so it feels a bit jarring.

I was really nervous you’d take it poorly because you are taking your own time to do this, and I really didn’t want my feedback to make you feel bad. You put something out into the world and people will always have opinions and sometimes those opinions hurt and I just hope my critique didn’t hurt you.

- 🥸

Nooo literally not annoying at all! I really do appreciate the critiques when they’re helpful and I love that you can all be so honest with me because in the end it only makes me a better writer and the story better!

Listen, I’m used to being critiqued because we did it all the time in art school and even now with my job I have to be open to critique, so when it’s actually explained/has reasoning behind it, then I’m all for it and that’s what I’m used to. I know we all want the story to be great and I’ll be honest I’ve been feeling off these last few chapters as well and idk if it’s because they’re together now and I’m trying to transition the dynamic between the characters or if it’s just nearing the end but there have been definite recent times where I don’t like what’s happening. Then I just figure that I can always fix it after the base of the story is down, and I apologize that it’s showing in my work.

It’s definitely been difficult trying to navigate the story because I’ve never really plotted or done something like this before, and I’m also feeling like reader is kind of missing her own plot besides the imposter syndrome tidbit. I think there’s more to explore there too but obviously it’s easier to write azs character because he’s already real and established haha.

I’m not hurt by your feedback at all! It makes me feel so much better than a straight up nasty one and I absolutely love to hear what people think!

[dbgdbw]

243.Lanchaea’s Lambda (1)

란체아의 람다 (1)

“Hyung, that thing, it’s Sung Hyunjae?”

Yoohyunie, who was held in my arms, suddenly asked.

“Hm?”

“Seeing how he’s taking useless interest in hyung, it seems to be the case.”

…instead of by his face, was that how you’d ended up recognizing him.

“For starters, he’s not.”

But even as I was saying as much, it was difficult to disguise my discomfort. They were different, but also similar. Could this really just be chalked up to coincidence. Honestly, it was a bit much, wasn’t it. Even if you looked past the similarity in appearance, their Skills and weapons were completely identical as well. Their personalities seemed to differ a bit, at least, but it wasn’t as though they were dissimilar.

“‘Sung Hyunjae’ again, is it.”

Sigma, who had caught Yoohyunie’s words, murmured.

“It’s a person who resembles y-, no, someone that you happen to resemble, sir. My ‘Partner’, you see.”

Figuring that I should go ahead and complete the quest as well, while I was at it, I decided to press on.

“While this isn’t my personal opinion–so, completely objectively speaking–he’s quite good-looking and disgustingly accomplished, but at the moment, stuck just watching through a monitor while cooped up in a room as a hot-pink bunch of yarn.”

Why wasn’t the ‘Completed Quest’ notification showing up. Did I have to push it a bit further? Exactly how much was this thing expecting from me, anyway.

“It seems he’s taken up knitting as a hobby as of late, and the scarf did turn out well, at least. He appears to be good at making cocktails too. He’s good at cooking, won’t eat bread crusts, but will unexpectedly the eat shrimp tail ends, and according to Soyoung-ssi, he’s good at origami too. There’s a massive aquarium in his home. Though it got smashed open, it’s been re-filled with water since, I’ve been told. He’d asked before whether I wouldn’t like go fishing together as, apparently, there’s a good location to personally fish for new stock.”

“Fishing?”

“Yeah, d’you wanna come with? You haven’t gone fishing before, right?”

At this point in time, I hadn’t gone before, either. Before regressing, I’d done so on occasion inside of Dungeons. If you managed to catch the relatively knackless fish that lived inside of Dungeons in alive condition, depending on the variety, they could be sold at a fairly hefty markup for ornamental purposes. For some F-rank Dungeons, rather than monster hunting, it was the fishing that would rake in bigger profits.

After barely scrounging up a few more useless tidbits of personal information, the quest finally got marked as complete. That damn Sung Hyunjae, honestly.

“...in any case, there’s some asshole like that. As you can clearly see, the situation seems to have reversed–you should be going right along and turning tail, no, sir?”

Yoohyunie was brimming with mana, while Sigma would have burned through at least half of his own reserves. Even if he were to attempt anything, the outcome was already decided. To be honest, that he’d bothered to chase Yoohyunie all the way here in the first place was unexpected. I hadn’t thought him to be the type that would knowingly enter into a losing fight.

“I’ll concede that the situation is disadvantageous to myself.”

탁, with a light footstep, Sigma retreated. Having leapt to the top of the crumbling ruins of the wall, he looked down at us.

“Alpha–no, ‘Han Yoohyun’, was it. First… An apology, then.”

For some inexplicable reason, Sigma humbly bowed his head. Just when I was wondering what he was up to, since he was hardly the sort to behave that way.

“I’d assumed that C-rank was a renegade un-Awakened lacking an affiliation and had him Marked, you see.”

He just had to open his fat mouth and spew a bunch of useless shit. Apparently informed about how Marks worked, Yoohyunie’s eyes narrowed at the reply.

“Hyung?”

“Well, the procedure had started when–”

Without listening to the rest of my explanation, Yoohyunie pulled down my scarf and scanned the back of my neck. There was the faint sound of teeth grinding together.

“The marking procedure was interrupted before it was completed, though? …did it leave a trace?”

“...a little.”

It didn’t feel any different, so I hadn’t realized, but that goddamned bastard! This is my real body, you hear! I wanted to know what it looked like, but if it was my nape, it wasn’t like I could see it with my own eyes. Ah–the Teacher Skill. When I quickly used it on Yoohyunie, I could see a slight design imprinted on the back of my neck. It looked like the faint stamp of a seal, that had run out of ink during the process.

The nearly extinguished flames suddenly came roaring back alive, blazing up high. Quirking the corners of his lips, this time, that Sigma bastard took out the contract.

“And perhaps owing to your resurrection, it seems that the contract remains in place, still. So it’s now my turn to collect what I’m owed, C-rank.”

The bastard spoke, using the tip of his finger to underline a part of the contract in a long stroke as he continued.

“In the case that Alpha is granted his freedom, within twenty-four hours, the other party will be compensated with intelligence that he deems satisfactory recompense.’ Is what it says, no.”

“I’ll spill the info, so get your ass down here right now!”

“What would happen if the twenty four hours were to pass without my hearing the intelligence, I wonder.”

“...what?”

“‘Waiting’ is something I can do as well, C-rank.”

That’s, this son of a bitch! That Sigma would possibly refuse to receive his compensation, was something I hadn’t anticipated. I should’ve been a bit more judicious with my wording on those conditions!

“Even if you were to wait, do you think that I’ll simply tell you what it was after the contract defaults into being nullified! You’ll never hear what it was, for the rest of your life!”

“Then I should be able to acquire the C-rank and Alpha both. That’s not bad, either.”

…fucking hell, I should’ve left my dongsaeng out of the compensation talks. No, if I could get ahold of the SS-rank detox Item from the Point Store first, then that was that. Since it was single use, it shouldn’t be that expensive, right.

콰르릉!

Just then, the lower part of the rubble Sigma was standing atop of began to melt. As the heap of boulders collapsed, Sigma leapt further backwards with light footsteps. His gaze cold, Yoohyunie watched him with narrowed eyes.

“Feeling sore, I see. Even so–I’ll allow you at least a day to tarry in Achates City.”

Saying so, Sigma’s form disappeared altogether. Yoohyunie set himself down from my hold.

“Hyung should stay here and–, no, here might be too dangerous too.”

“And just who are you trying to go after! That’s just what that bastard wants. The further you get from the Mana Hole, the more disadvantaged you’ll be. That bastard came here with a reservoir tank full of his own faction’s mana in tow, along with a retinue of several S-rank Guards. Not to mention that, right now, you’re in a deeply fatigued state, too.”

He had been continually locked away. Even with SS-rank stats, his physical condition couldn’t be called ‘good’. Had he been an ordinary person, he would’ve already wasted away to the point that it would’ve been difficult for him to stand, as it was.

“We can just buy the detox Item from the Point Store and use that. So.”

“I really can’t go after him?”

- With Rinie here too, Hyung!

As one, both of them turned pleading looks on me. Ah, um, well.

“...well, then again. Since it seems like he wants to capture you alive, it shouldn’t be too dangerous, I suppose. Ah, that’s right, did you happen to see the message the Newcomer sent?”

Yoohyunie shook his head. So he hadn’t even had the time to look at the message, huh. The contents of the message Yoohyunie had received was identical to the one Sung Hyunjae had gotten.

“Then, does that mean I can come back to life the way hyung did a bit ago, even if I die?”

“Uh, that’s not…….”

After debating whether I should tell him for a moment, I decided to speak honestly. Since, so long as it could be helped, we’d decided not to hide anything from each other.

“I entered this world with my real body.”

“What? T-then hyung’s–!”

“In exchange, the number of lives I have is five. Since I’ve used one up, I have four left still, now.”

I told him about the disks too. And how, somehow or another, Sung Hyunjae seemed to have ended up inside of the System as well. Even as he frowned slightly, Yoohyunie nodded his head.

“...I’ll just stay by hyung’s side. Even if there’s four left, you never know what might happen. I can’t just leave hyung behind. And without Eunhae, going together would only end up being more dangerous.”

“No need to worry about that. Though, it does have a thirty minute time limit.”

I bought a MiniMini Cookie from the Point Shop and ate it. Soon after, my body shrunk to a tiny size. After his initial surprise, Yoohyunie carefully wrapped his hands around me to pick me up. Having scuttling down the length of Yoohyunie’s arm to approach, Rinie made circles around me.

- Hyung! Hyung! So cute! Like Rinie!

“At about this size, it should be easy to protect me, even without going out of your way. And your flame resistance should be conveyed perfectly well, too. And with my stats at C-rank, plus the S-rank equipment, it shouldn’t be like when I’m an F-rank, where even a glancing blow could be life-threatening.”

- Rinie wants to hold Hyung! Let Rinie hold you please!

Saying that he would do a very good job of protecting me, Rinie squeezed me in a tight hug with his forelegs. But then, if you’re doing that, you won’t be able to help Yoohyunie, you know. As it turned out, because there happened to be a shirt with a chest pocket in Yoohyunie’s–no, Alpha’s inventory, he changed into it and I went into the pocket. Unwilling to give up hope, Irin circled around me.

“Let’s quickly track and take him down!”

From the Point Shop, I bought ‘Hunting Hound(C)’(1). When I activated the single-use Item that would let me track something down within a 3km radius, after setting it on top of the contract with Sigma, soon enough, something that resembled a firefly popped out and, as though signaling for us to follow, flitted meaningfully in place. 텅, with the sound of feet kicking off pavement, Yoohyunie’s body soared into the air.

By scattering viridian willow leaves a short distance ahead and stepping on the leaves, he leapt forward in consecutive movements to climb to the top of a building shrouded in darkness. Nearly the very instant the tips of his feet touched down on the building, 훅–, his body launched forward once more. Several buildings passed by underfoot, in the span of seconds.

“My Point Shop seems to be different from hyung’s reward store.”

“Huh?”

“My reward store is only showing Skills and weapons.”

Yoohyunie, who had been skimming his status and quest windows as he raced on, spoke. Though there was a large selection available, there was nothing like a ‘Universal Key’, ‘MiniCookie’, or tracking Item available, he said. In fact, the Skills and weapons were priced far higher when compared with my reward shop, too.

“...did the Newcomer actually show me some thoughtfulness?”

Or, it might’ve been that Sung Hyunjae had tampered with it, too. In any case, I’d gotten some good profit margins as a result.

- 크르르르르

In the distance, the snarls of monsters could be heard. That Sigma bastard, had he headed towards the location of the SS-rank monsters. If he could rope in the Achates City Guards as well, then it would likely improve his odds. What a cop-out.

“Yoohyun-ah, don’t worry about mana.”

“But this world’s–”

“Hyung has a ton of mana potions. I can buy them from the Point Shop, too. So go all out on using your Skills.”

Hyung will generously pour all of the mana potions I’d so assiduously saved out for you. I’d like it if I could cast the Attack Skill 2x Share on you too, but regrettably, I’d used it on that damned guy already.

Another building passed by below. As he stopped on top of a desolate half-crumbling building, the grotesque figure of a monster came into full view.

A monster with scales tantamount to SS-grade armor covering its body. Not far away, what looked to be monsters resembling a gigantic serpent and bear were surrounded by Achates Guards as well. All three seemed to have sustained little to no damage. It seemed that, as Guards below S-rank, the most they could do was throw themselves at the problem in the hopes of buying some time.

And over on the far side, on a building located near the serpent, that Sigma bastard was standing. As though telling us to draw closer, he showed us a smile. That it resembled a certain nugu-ssi(2) only made my mood worsen further.

“Be careful, hyung.”

“Hold on a sec, Yoohyun-ah.”

Stopping Yoohyunie, who had been about to rush forward towards Sigma, I took out an Item. ‘Over Here(SS)’.

“Let’s start things off with a bang, first.”

Cleaning up the Achates and Solemnis Guards hanging around would make things go smoother later. I aimed the pistol that was approximately double my current body at the place where that Sigma bastard was. 반짝, the muzzle of the gun twinkled briefly. It wasn’t that anything had been fired from the gun. With that signal, having designated the location, a brief moment later.

구그긍–

Something appeared from above, in the sky above Sigma and the giant serpent monster. The round object, which had plummeted to the ground in a blink.

콰아아앙–!!

Exploded. Light, as blinding as the rays of the dawning sun, burst outwards, spiking as both a tremendous roar of sound, as well as firepower. Everything in the surroundings was wiped clear in an instant. A faint breeze and a sense of heat reached even where we were, despite the considerable distance.

An Item that would drop an SS-grade bomb at the indicated location, up to three uses.

- 샤아아!

- 쿠워어어!

The monsters howled raucously. The snake, its body mottled with burns from having been bombarded dead-on, writhed violently. Each time it did so, spurts of venom, as well as a miasmic aura, spilled into its surroundings. Even before the heat from the detonation had settled, Yoohyunie leapt into the air. It was an element that was incapable of harming even a hair on my dongsaeng’s head, to begin with.

“My poison resistance did drop in grade, but it’s still S-rank! We can just buy an antidote, too!”

As it so happened, the pocket was located right next to his heart. If the venom tried to permeate through, it should be filtered through my resistance first, and subsequently be purified. Since he had SS-rank stats, too, he should be able to hold up to the poison all the better; even with only S-rank poison resistance, an SS-rank serpent’s venom would still be manageable.

But not for Sigma.

Stepping on viridian willow leaves, Yoohyunie’s body breached Sigma’s proximity in a blink. 화르륵, dark blue flames surged. By assimilating the residual heat from the detonation, even with the application of a small amount of mana, they surged and raged wildly.

Neither did Sigma stay still. Apparently having replenished his mana in the meanwhile, golden currents of electricity enveloped him in a spectacular display. As his chain wove around him in a long slithering movement.

“Irin!”

As Yoohyunie’s command fell, an enormous crimson mass lurched forward from behind Sigma. Irin, having taken the form of an imugi, while cloaked in blue flames, stretched fangs and talons towards Sigma.

카가각, immediately after the chains moved to rebuffed the horned dragon’s attack–without letting the window of opportunity slip by, Yoohyunie lunged at Sigma’s back.

The blade held in Yoohyunie’s hand swung in an arc. Lightning and fire mixed together, devouring the other. Clothes tearing in a long line, Sigma extricated his body through a barely discernible lapse in guard between Irin and Yoohyunie. But that was where the serpent happened to be. An SS-rank monster that’d had its body partly melted away, brimming with poison.

- 시이익!

Flicking its crimson tongue, the serpent stretched its jaws wide open. Sigma, who had been caught up in the miasma, grimaced slightly; the other end of the chain that was blocking Irin shot out, and.

콰득!

Pierced through the serpent’s head. In a smooth movement, by treading on the chain, Sigma vaulted up to the top of the serpent’s head. As though he’d been anticipating Yoohyunie’s pursuit, by jerking on the chain, he impelled the serpent to spit its venom at him.

- 키익!

Mad with pain, the serpent sprayed a particularly viscous batch of poison. Before it could come in contact with Yoohyunie’s body, Irin opened his mouth, sending a billow of flames forth.

콰과과과, burning through the venom in a instant, the Breath of blue flames swallowed up the serpent’s head. Subject to flames that bore infernally high temperatures, the serpent perished without being able to make a sound. As the serpent’s head–burnt to an indistinguishable, charred state–toppled to the ground, a bundle of points blinked into existence.

“Yoohyun-ah, grab the Points!”

The Points I saw were of a far lower number than with the SS-rank monsters from before. A nod towards the acknowledgement of the hardships I’d gone to to pull off the bombings, then.

Sigma had already retreated further without even a single scrap of cloth catching fire, however. Tch, how agile. That guy must have the battle foresight too, after all. But even so, seemingly having been affected by the miasma, his coloring had turned slightly pale.

Apparently having used up a significant amount of his strength, Irin returned to the form of a crimson salamander and approached my side. Just when he was about to launch another attack on Sigma.

타다다다다–!

The sounds of a helicopter could be heard. Was it one of Solemnis’ helicopters? Wasn’t going so far as to mobilize even a helicopter cheating!

“Yoohyun-ah, be careful! There are some larger weapons that use up a lot of mana, that are capable of producing S-rank attacks or higher!”

Nodding his head, Yoohyunie used the hand not holding onto his sword to draw a sniper rifle out of his inventory. Thinking to use a sniper rifle to take on a military-use helicopter was a preposterous notion–but when it was an Item in the hands of an SS-rank Guard that was in question, that was a different story. The rifle was leveled at the helicopter, and.

덜컹.

The side of the hulking helicopter slid open. I was wondering whether a weapon would be pointed outside, but what revealed itself ended up being.

부와아앙–

A giant motorbike, roaring noisily. Three sets of bikes dropped out of the helicopter. The bike that was at the fore amongst them had a lance protruding in front. Crimson strands of hair streamed through the air under the moonlight.

“Ho, you bastards! Lanchaea’s Lambda has arrived!”

Upon touching down on the ground, along with a boisterous roar, the bike accelerated in an instant. Reaching an incredible speed through what was most certainly the work of a Skill, the bike collided with the bear-shaped monster. The moment the tip of the lance came into contact, the hide that had been as durable as steel plates crumpled alongside the spearpoint, shredding as though reduced to so much tissue paper.

And soon thereafter–with the sound of a sack of water bursting open, the bear’s body quite literally shattered into infinitesimal fragments.

끼이익, with a long screech of tires against pavement, the bike came to a stop; Lambda, who had eliminated the SS-rank monster in a flash, hefted the lance upright. Displaying a smile, she waved her hand in our direction.

“Hi there, young master!”

It hardly needed lengthy deliberation. It was Moon Hyuna.

-----

(1) 꼬리 무는 개 lit. ‘dog who bites [the] tail’ where tail→trace/trail→dog ‘on the hunt/chasing trail’

(2) 누구(nugu) = ‘who?’ → ‘a certain someone-ssi’

tumblr finally got around to un-shadowbanning the blog, so moving things back here )b

+(Q&A)

Q) i’m a big fan of the willow leaves Skill, and because i don’t think i recall seeing an instance of a physical attack that uses only the willow leaves: is it that, typically, its true form lacks substance, like a hologram, or is it that it does have a physical presence, but is unable to achieve significant force?

A) the usual form is similar to a hologram. expending a minimal amount of mana, it’s merely shaped into the ‘framework’ that resembles willow leaves. as a result, even when countless willow leaves are created, the amount of mana consumed is on the lower end. it’s typically used only to obscure sight, but as that mana is han yoohyun’s, han yoohyun is capable of traversing across them. this is achieved by reinforcing just the willow leaves being stepped on by han yoohyun with an increased amount of mana, the very instant he steps on them; exceptional mana control is required to sustain the flow, lest it be interrupted. it can be used in a variety of different ways, but as the willow leaves are numerous in count, it can be difficult to find an opportunity to use it in the first place^^ lifting another person or an object with them should be feasible as well, but it would require a far greater amount of mana and magical energy in return; and should a clash with the other’s magical energy occur, unable to provide continued support, they may end up being dropped as a consequence.

+(Q&A)

Q) you’d mentioned before that sung hyunjae would occasionally go fishing, and that song taewon, han yoojin, and kang soyoung had accompanied him prior; did those three enjoy fishing with sung hyunjae as well, though?? and why did sung hyunjae want to go fishing with these individuals in particular?

A) kang soyoung shuddered in revulsion. with her boss, she’d rather not do anything other than Dungeon raids^^ meanwhile, for song taewon, fishing is an activity well-suited to him. to be precise, what he enjoys is quietly casting the fishing line while hoping that none of the fish will bite. if the occasion ever arose where he could go on a casual fishing trip with han yoojin, he would probably take well to fishing too. he’d likely complain upon seeing sung hyunjae doing well, or run interference to entertain himself. when he fails to catch very many fish, he’ll probably joke at sung hyunjae to try zapping them with a bit of electricity. electrofishing is illegal, everyone^^ in kang soyoung’s case, she happened to get caught up in things as a casualty, while in han yoojin and song taewon’s case, it’s because sung hyunjae wished to share his hobby with them. with those two people, he wishes to be able to do an assortment of activities together.

+(Q&A)

Q) i was curious whether the reason sung hyunjae doesn’t eat bread crusts is because it’s a metaphor as it relates to sung hyunjae’s narrative, or if it’s simply a trait indicative of sung hyunjae’s pickiness!

A) typically, the trait goes hand-in-hand with the intended metaphor. it’s a longstanding habit of his ^^

※

+(Q&A)

Q) the small yoojinie that sung hyunjae took with him in the epilogue, how does his culinary preferences pan out? in contrast to the yoojinie who refused to acknowledge his preference for sweets, will he come to like sugary/sweet foods as well? or, does he end up taking after sung hyunjae and/or the elder’s food preferences? does he eat bread crusts? if he happens to show signs of 편식(picky eating), how would the elder and sung hyunjae respond??

A) he’s still in his early years yet, and possesses an ordinary preference for snacks ^^ considering his state as a child, there should be a high possibility that he will learn to like the kinds of foods that he becomes exposed to in his environment. it may be that he comes to like some foods that don’t even exist on earth. from the perspective of a young child, sung hyunjae would likely come off as an immensely cool and strong adult. when he sees that kind of grownup avoiding eating bread crusts, wouldn’t he end up thinking so you shouldn’t eat that part, huh. it might be that he ends up assuming that cutting off the bread crusts is a grown-up thing to do. assuming the young chaos doesn’t intervene, that is. both of them veer towards thinking if i don’t eat the things i don’t like, so what. as the young chaos had lived according to his whims as well, he’s the type to just leave things be so long as there’s no outstanding problems, and sung hyunjae would probably either locate or create various ingredients and foods with a similar enough nutritional value. but, of course, since there’s no substitute [for one’s diet], if it began to affect his health, then they would endeavor to address his picky eating.

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

SCP-XXXX: “Ava”, chapter 4 preview

Just a tidbit of what I’m working on.  Hope you guys are still excited for this!

SCP-XXXX: Do you mean it?

Dr. Young: Mean what?

SCP-XXXX: About all this.  Will you really teach me about cells and stuff?

Dr. Young smiles.

Dr. Young: Yes, Ava, if you’re willing to learn, I will teach you.  Do you like learning about science?

SCP-XXXX shrugs.

SCP-XXXX: It beat bible study by a mile.  Though that might have more to do with the teachers.  Sister Agatha taught all the science classes, such as they were.  She tried to make it a little fun… even did the whole mini volcano thing during the geology unit.  We thought that was the coolest shit.

Dr. Young: I’m not a geologist, but the study of volcanic activity is fascinating.  I’m sure the library here has books on it if you’re interested.

SCP-XXXX: I think I’ll stick with biology to start, not that rocks aren’t cool as shit.  Thanks, Bea.

Dr. Young: Of course, Ava.

Approximately 5 seconds of silence elapse.

SCP-XXXX: So… what about you?

Dr. Young: Hmm?  What about me?

SCP-XXXX shifts forward in her chair, shifting her weight to either side in a semi-regular rhythm.

SCP-XXXX: Well, obviously you like learning about science, but did you always want to study animals and cells and stuff?

Dr. Young taps her pen against her notepad.  3 seconds of silence elapse.  SCP-XXXX leans back and flushes.

SCP-XXXX: Sorry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.

Dr. Young smiles at SCP-XXXX.

Dr. Young: Given all the questions we expect you to answer, it’s more than fair for you to ask some in return.  I apologize for my absentmindedness.

SCP-XXXX: Oh, no worries.  It’s chill.

Dr. Young: To answer your question, no.  For a long time, I didn’t want to pursue a career in science at all.  I was always fascinated by it, but I never even considered earning a degree in it until I entered university.

SCP-XXXX leans forward again.

SCP-XXXX: What did you think you wanted to do?

Dr. Young: Don’t laugh when I tell you.  It seems quite strange in retrospect.

SCP-XXXX: Wouldn’t dream of it.

Dr. Young: Well… I actually wanted to study religion, and eventually join the church.  I was raised Catholic, and my family was very devout.

SCP-XXXX: Are they doctors too?  Or… religion-studiers or whatever?

Dr. Young chuckles.

Dr. Young: The term you want is theologian.  But no, they were politicians, diplomats.  When I showed less than zero interest in politics, they pushed me to study theology as the only suitable alternative.  They never neglected my education, so I knew that I enjoyed science before but… I also thought that a life devoted to faith would be good for me.

SCP-XXXX: Until?

Dr. Young: Until it came time for me to choose my classes for the first term, and I chose a biology elective.  I took it for fun, I never thought it would cause me to change anything about my path in life.

SCP-XXXX: But it did.

Dr. Young: But it did.  It didn’t happen all at once.  Actually, in hindsight, it was quite slow.  One class turned into more, but I continued to pursue my theology degree well into my third year.  At first, I thought that studying both would give me a richer understanding of my faith, and in many ways it did.

SCP-XXXX: Meaning?

Dr. Young shrugs.

Dr. Young: I believe that there are higher powers out there in the universe.  But what shape those powers take, I have no idea.  God may look nothing like I always imagined Him, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

SCP-XXXX: …But he could be a weird tentacle guy.

Dr. Young laughs.

Dr. Young: He could be.  But there’s a kind of freedom in not knowing, don’t you think?  When you’re certain you know how the world works, you become limited within its perceived rules.  It’s only when you open yourself up to the possibility of being wrong that you can recognize how little you actually know about anything.  It’s a frightening revelation, but an exciting one too.  The rules you thought you were rigid and clearly defined fall away, and a universe of new potential opens up in their wake.  There’s something divine about that, I think.  A single moment of seeing the world as He must.

Approximately 2 seconds of elapse.

SCP-XXXX: So you’re, like, smart smart, huh?

Dr. Young laughs.

Dr. Young: What do you mean by that?

SCP-XXXX flushes and wiggles in her seat.

SCP-XXXX: I mean, like, you know stuff, but you also know stuff about stuff.  Shit, that sounds so stupid.  Forget I said anything.

Dr. Young: I understand what you meant.  It’s not stupid, Ava, and neither are you.

SCP-XXXX: Yeah, sure…

Dr. Young leans forward and rests her hand flat on the table.

Dr. Young: You’re not stupid, Ava.  Uneducated, perhaps, but that isn’t your fault.  And we’re going to fix that now, aren’t we?

SCP-XXXX looks away and bites her bottom lip, and then grins at Dr. Young, who grins back.

SCP-XXXX: Yeah, I guess we are.

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

Apologies that I'm randomly bothering you, but your ship suggestions have me quite intrigued👀

May I have some tea on Eönwë/Elladan and Maglor/Ecthelion?🤗 (Glorfindel/Erestor/Ecthelion is interesting too, but that I can imagine/already have ideas :D)

Oh help, I realized I haven't replied to this yet. 😭 I know it is now Very Late, but here we go.

I cannot divulge too much of what I have on Ecthelion and Maglor as I feel I share headcanons for this made-up ship with friends who may wish to write them first, BUT! I am happy to share what I have for Eönwë and Elladan!

This ship developed from this one Eönwë tidbit that has him linked to Númenor. It was said that the Númenoreans learned from him at the beginning, and so I imagine that among the Children of Eru, Eönwë would have the most sympathy for the Secondborn, and Númenor would have been his “one great love”. But because they were mortal, and given what eventually happened to them, the experience of loving Númenor left an impression on Eönwë, one he has not repeated again, so deeply did the eventual fall of the once favored isle affect him.

Elladan, on the other hand, by virtue of his name, I imagine is more Man than Elf compared to his brother, Elrohir. Even so, I like to believe that Elladan eventually sails with Elrohir in the Fourth Age, for love of his brother and also for his parents. But sailing and choosing the path of the Elves were not fully what Elladan wished, and if he did not have Elrohir, Elladan might have chosen to be among Men. He never was decided on either when he sailed.

Fast forward then to Elladan in Valinor. He struggles with his choice. He was most at home with the Rangers, and he misses his brothers-in-arms from Middle-earth. He even misses his sister, Arwen, whom he also somehow envies for taking the path of Men. Elladan wanders the lands of the Valar and meets Eönwë, who is odd even for a Maia (Eönwë is not the warmest of beings), but they somehow keep meeting and tentatively forge a friendship. Eönwë eventually sees in Elladan the children of the Númenor that he once loved and lost, and Elladan finds someone in Aman outside of his family to confide in. Eönwë can hear Elladan’s prayers in Valinor, hears the regrets Elladan whispers to the winds because he couldn't tell them to Elrohir for fear of hurting him or being a burden. And Elladan, for all his melancholy in Aman, is outwardly a bright person, and so he is the first person in a long time to get Eönwë out of his shell—to everyone, even Manwë's, great amusement.

These two are probably going to be my longest slow burn, if I ever get to writing them. Or, even if I don't, they are still dear to me and make total sense in my head!

[automatayaoi]

*throws a dozen dress up clowns at your head* Character design!!! murder puppet apologism!!! chemicals turning frogs gay!!! its kero kero time!!!! i dont know how to type up a real bio so im just throwing tidbits fullspeed at your window and also partially me spitballing speghetti against the wall

✨ their name is kero pierrot ofc, and they are a funny little frog clown married to arlequino hehe. keeping with the theme of commedia dell'arte their name is based off the character of the pierrot (and it's also a pun on keroppi since theyre my favorite sanrio character waha)

✨ the Pierrot was a tragic and lovesick figure, portrayed as naïve but endearing, often hiding their true feelings behind their jokes, and was a popular choice for romantic artists

✨ kero is a widdle bit fucked up in the brain zone but its FIIINE just slap a coat of face paint on there and ur good 8) Do not perceive the crushing mental illness behind the curtain

✨ grew up in america ofc, came to japan for reasons that turned out to be highly fallible (they maybe trust people a little too easily), refuses 2 talk abt this, they are however lacking in places to stay and money to spend so start of everything theyre Struggling A Little

✨ at this point they arent even kero really just Person...pathetic sopping wet frog you find under a rock. they had a special interest in clownery but always sort of put those kinds of thoughts to the side as more of a silly daydream than a goal they could achieve

✨ a clown without its nose have you ever seen anything so sad

✨ they first see masaru and the rest of the nakamichi circus when they saw them perform their street show (starting here), they just happened to be in the park at the time, and it's honestly the first time kero has felt happy since they Arrived in japan

✨ magic of the circus

✨ they spend the next few weeks going to the park and sorta following the nakamichi circus around to see more of their street shows, they don't really have much else to do anyway, they might as well spend some time having fun watching a circus act

✨ they attend so many that they actually start getting recognized by some of the circus members, especially masaru and shirogane since theyre very Perceptive. not a lot of details on those thoughts currently but masaru probably does his Main Protag/Therapist thing and gets to know kero

✨ BUT the way they actually join the nakamichi circus is during the performers meetup (starting here), kero goes to see their show again, but then things start Going Very Wrong and masaru's left by himself with no one to perform with. Little guy problems

✨ they've seen how much masaru and the others have been working and struggling in the past weeks, improving their street show, their cooperation with each other, and even if masaru hadn't talked to them they couldn't stand seeing something that made them so happy go down in flames like this

✨ SO! they hop in with vilma naota and mitsuushi to save the act! they don't have circus training like them so they can't do any fancy acts, but kero knows how to improv and roll with the punches, so they play off of the others as second zanni to liven up the show

✨ after that, i think they'd try to slip away quietly (kind of cant believe they did that) but masaru goes after them and asks them to join the circus!

✨ he knows that they wanted to be a clown, and even without formal training, he thinks having a western style clown will help the nakamichi circus stand out from the crowd! (also a call back to this moment in the manga when they went to see the straw circus)

✨ this is when they actually introduce themselves as Kero Pierrot to the others. there is no other name only Clown

✨ this has been a lot of masaru talk so far sorry he's my little buddy inflicted with main character disease. also i dont get a chance to meet my husband until like chapter 380 so i gotta be doin smth in the mean time

✨ from here on, kero sticks with the nakamichi circus as their new home :) they already knew a lot about clowning, but they really throw themselves into studying it as best they can (usually by spending hours at a library computer since most don't really have a textbook on clowns) and also training with the other members to sorta expand their repertoire. they get a lot better at the classic clown skills, your juggling, your balloon animals, what have you, BUT they also start to learn the cyr wheel!

✨ kero and masaru bond over doing circus training together. i give him a little noogie.

✨ they become pretty close with ryouko and lise too !! i jus love all my circus family i get them to play board games with me

✨ Peaceful Life (Until Its Not)

✨ this post as already gotten so long (and also i wanna reread some parts of the manga to refresh my mindself) so at some point i will expand on kero's feelings irt masaru running away and narumi joining nakamichi circus, but theres a couple other important points i want to make :V

✨ kero sorta takes a back seat with the rest of the nakamichi gang until they show up at kuroga village

✨ Specifically they join lise heima and ryouko in going to mont-saint-michel to follow masaru (they are NOT!!! letting these children go off on their own to fight!!!!)

💕 this is when they meet arlequino hehe 💕

✨ they stay by ryouko's side while they fucking Book It form the shirogane-o, and that's when they run into arle

💕 sorry ryouko but I'M the one who smiles at him 💕

✨ i should make a separate post of the manga panels i'm def in. and/or rewrite the scene as a fic which i might do at some point but just wait

💕 anyway this post is long enough so all you have to know is we get married and now hes my malewife Arlequino Pierrot 💕

💕 tagging my karakuri buddies @dissonantyote @lameassboyfriend (i hope dats oke)

[autumnfangirler]

3, 25, 31 for ocs of choice for the couple's meme 👀

Sure! you are witness to a rare occasion where i actually make a choice (and you get to see who my favourites are)

3. By contrast, what was the moment that first made their ~heart~ Soft for the other person? Not necessarily a concious realization of "I love this person," but a moment that had them like "Oh...I adore them..."

Caine- caine finds the most value in the small moments, little things they get to notice and appreciate about the people they love. for ortega, it was back in the sidestep days, after some big fight they won that had ortega smiling like the sun. they didnt realize it then, but he loved that smile, and subconciously started to help the rangers more often just to see it. as for chen, theres a line in the game that goes like "he sounds amused in the way he does when spoon does something funny. no intent hiding behind it". i think it was the first time that happened. caine rarely got to see chen without a layer of distance or suspicion, so the first time he truly got to see him happy without the mask, they couldnt help committing it to memory

Cyrus- thats so mushy and stupid. he's going to throw up on you. hes also pulling out an alphabetically arranged and growing list of tidbits about daniel he absolutely adores. i dont think there was a specific moment that made him develop his crush on herald, it was more things he noticed that built up over time. his determination for his cause, his soft yet firm insistence of what he sees in cyrus, and of course his sweet little smile all made cyrus fall for him. the moment he realized "oh shit im in love with him" though, was the regene reveal. being seen and accepted for what he was when he only expected condemnation was such a novel prospect to him he really went "well i cant NOT fall in love with him"

Cynthia- she's such a hopeless romantic, if you asked her when she fell in love with ortega, she's say the first time she saw her smile. in actuality, it would be at some point braiding her hair. cynthia and ortega would tend to talk to eachother while cynthia worked. sometimes itd be silly stupid banter, and other times itd be...heavier, but either way, she learned a lot of what she does about ortega this way. she also gets to see ortega relaxed and honest in a way she never is around the press or her team, and it makes her super soft to know thats a privilege that gets extended to her. its also part of the reason she was a little sad to see it gone after heartbreak (altho cynthia does have longer hair than she used to in her sidestep days, so role reversal is definetely possible 👀)

25. They accidentally hurt or upset their partner. What happened? How do they respond? What do they do to make their partner feel better?

oh man, what happened indeed. the answer drastically changes depending on whether its a reveal or if its a natural disagreement or such, but ill answer for both

Cyrus- if its being revealed as puppeteer? uh. doubling down 💀 sorry danny, but youre really slowing down the whole villain and being evil thing, so he might as well use this as an opportunity to cut the chord completely. in his head he probably sees this as a good thing for herald anyway, because he doesnt have to be bogged down by feelings for him. a clean cut for the both of them. if its a natural disagreement, its probably more along the lines of cyrus making fun of something daniel likes. hes used to teasing and making fun of things with ortega, i dont think hed account for the fact daniel might take it to heart. when he does realize it, i think hed take the time to sit down with him and apologize. hes not the best with emotions, so itd lean more to explaining his reasoning, but he does promise to take an effort not to do that again. he doesnt want to ruin anything over something as stupid as that

Cecilia- argent already knows shes the villain so that doesnt apply lmao. she'd get into an argument with argent, but over what im not sure. in any case, neither of them like backing down or admitting theyre wrong, so apologizing isnt exactly ceci's go to option for making up. she'd more likely go for the asian mom route and get her some snacks instead. use it as an opportunity to talk about what happened, and if she really thought she was in the wrong, apologize. if not, shed likely ask to mutually drop the topic, agree to disagree basically. it depends on what argent does after that, but even if she doesnt want to drop it i think ceci would be more for civilized conversation by that point

31. What little thing do they find incredibly (though harmlessly) annoying about their partner?

Cyrus- i have a personal hc that a lot of the rooms in daniels apartment are actually rather haphazardly arranged at best(yes this stems from the scene where chen complains about herald not doing the dishes). cyrus doesnt mind a mess, but he does mind it when the other person is an artist who happens to paint from time to time. hes probably ruined a lot of good clothes wandering around the rooms and accidentally stepping on/tripping over paint. it has been cause for many a complaint, but hes tolerating it because he likes watching daniel paint

[helshollowhalls]

you wanna hear something crazy? of course you do. why am I even asking.

so everyone, sit your asses down and let me tell you something that once again upheld the "things are so absolutely down the drain the bare fucking minimum is at this point more the stuff of myths and folktales than actual myths and folktales".

I had an appointment with my legal support recently to handle some paperwork - as you do.

important paperwork, mind you. very important paperwork, which is why I was rather unamused when her office called me on the day at 10:07 to tell me she was sick and couldn't make it for our appointment at 11.

On the other end of the line wasn't one of the front desk ladies, it was one of her colleagues actually. he offered me to either postpone the appointment until my paperwork lady was back or show up at 11 and do the paperwork with him - Seeing as her substitute had recently left the office (a couple of months ago) and there wasn't a new offical substitute for my case yet. Considering that the paperwork I had to do was on a deadline that was less than a week away I believe and I was sitting at home about to combust from anxiety, panic and stress, I chose to take him up on his offer to work on the forms during the initial appointment date.

And so I rolled up in front of the office down the street at around 11 am and we started to fill out the forms.

I had never met or talked to the man before, mind you. He was very nice and had a lot of interesting tidbits and anecdotes for me.

He told me that one of his clients receives pension from several countries in Europe (he mentioned Belgium, Luxemburg and Sweden) since her late husband apparently traveled around for work a lot, hence the situation.

Point is, he said he recently sent paperwork for her regarding the pension to Sweden and - I still can't believe this actually happened apparently - he got a reply from Sweden along the lines of "Apologies in advance, due to this being international (and some other reasons, staff shortage or sth I don't really remember) processing the inquiry will take longer than usual. Thank you for your patience in advance, this can take up to three days to be processed. "

.

What the fuck do you mean??? Three days??? Long??? Delay??? Like are you KIDDING ME-

I had to wait 6 months for my first ever pension payment and if I hadn't lived in a moldy dirt cheap apartment buttfuck nowhere back then that waiting time would have completely crippled me financially. Infact, they still owe me money since mid 2022 and the issue still hasn't been resolved and I still haven't gotten those payments.

Who on earth considers three days a delay when it comes to processing paperwork. WHO.

Well, Sweden apparently does.

Actually, not just Sweden apparently, but he told me things are about as fast in Luxemburg and Belgium as well.

I guess the punchline is that Germany is absolutely incapable of being efficient in anything and always has been and I'm unfortunate enough to suffer the consequences.

Prost.

[studyinspectrum]

Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon: a Minnesota Mystery, a pastiche by Larry Millett, published 1996

(Originally published on Cohost on 7/01/2022)

so if i told you there was entire series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches that involved Holmes hanging out in Minnesota for a few years what would you say? "why is the famed English detective solving crimes in the middle of the northern United States?" comrade your guess is as good as mine, but probably because the author lives in Minnesota.

this series of books are pastiches built upon the premise that several unpublished Holmes stories penned by Watson were discovered inside of a wall of a historical building while it was under construction. the note left by Watson himself along with these manuscripts was that these stories contained too many unpalatable elements or dealt with their involvement in historical events both he and Holmes felt would be better left out of any publication. this isn't a bad set up for your pastiche i have to admit.

for the record, a pastiche is "a literary, artistic, musical, or architectural work that imitates the style of previous work" according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. due to Watson being the point of view character, it makes it much easier for authors to establish their Sherlock Holmes story as a pastiche. the content warnings for The Red Demon are as follows prostitution, verbal and physical violence against women, sexual assault, and arson.

my biases

this book interested me as one of the first pastiches i got when i got my library card last year. living in Minnesota myself, this was a really interesting pastiche on it's setting alone. i've seen pastiches and adaptations where Holmes is in America for whatever reason, but he usually sticks to the largest metropolitan locations of the late 19th to early 20th centuries. there was a lot of exciting mysteries that could be told about Chicago or New York for example.

the detriment to maybe my enjoyment of this book is that i'm not a native Minnesotan, i'm not as familiar with the local history of the state as say someone who was raised here through their younger education days. i can't say that i know the history of the areas i was raised in like the back of my hand, but there are a few tidbits i could certainly pull better than the total amount of historical knowledge i have of Minnesota. hell, i remember more facts about the state of Vermont than i do about Minnesota and thats because i did a school project about Vermont in 5th grade.

i bring up Minnesota history because The Red Demon focuses around a real event that happened, The Great Hinckely Fire that occurred in September 1894. at least 200,000 acres was burned down and the official death toll was 418, though it was likely higher, attributed a lot to lack of recording of the deaths of the indigenous people and off the grid people living in that area. it is considered among one of the deadliest fires in Minnesota history. Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon sure is the most historical historical fiction it can be.

the official reason for the fire was determined as a severe two month drought and due to the sparks that flew from the wheels on rails throughout the region, a fire was inevitable. There's more about the specific details of the fire on the City of Hinckley website. this story posits, even in it's own fictional way, that the fire was started due to an act of arson. an incomplete summary

i'm gonna be real, i listened to the audiobook close to a year ago so my ability to recall the details is mostly relegated to the larger set pieces of the book and pieces of the book i can find online to refresh my memory. i'd rather not go through the trouble of rereading or relistening to the entire book again, my apologies there but you'll see why i did this.

beyond the introduction i mentioned earlier, The Red Demon begins with Holmes being hired by railroad baron James J. Hill to track down a murderous arsonist calling himself The Red Demon that threatens his railway through several letters. the letters were a dead end for local authorities as they asked for no ransom and provided no details about the potential perpetrator. they were just vicious threats.

Holmes and Watson travel to Hinckley in order to figure out what they are able to, posing as reporters from England that want to write a story about life in the American midwest. Under this guise, they attempt to interview people that could have some insight into the identity of the Red Demon. Hinckley is a logging town that's dependent on the railroad in order to ship out the logs that they collect. the other big industry in town is sex work. this becomes relevant because Holmes is convinced that the threatening letters came from the matron of the brothel. Watson is nearly sexually assaulted while Holmes interviews the matron.

eventually they are put on the trail of a man who i THINK worked for the railroad but who's wife was killed in a railway accident. due to the circumstances the man lost his case in court as Hill's rail company was determined as not responsible for the accident. Holmes travels to Duluth in order to get information about this court case.

As the threatened railway destruction date draw near, Holmes and Watson try to find this man in town but unfortunately aren't able to locate him until the blaze begins. Holmes realizes that the culprit would be near the source of the fire so as everyone is trying to escape Hinckley by rail, Holmes runs in the opposite direction.

The Red Demon and Holmes have a physical altercation while the fire threatens to consume the bridge the train must go over to leave Hinckley. i can't remember who lands the decisive blow, but the man is shot or burns to death before their eyes and Holmes and Watson narrowly escape on the last train car out of Hinckley.

the last i remember about the story is Hill congratulating Holmes for helping him with the case and doing away with the Red Demon and helping to save the lives of more Hinckley residents by keeping the last train waiting for as long as possible.

the one notable (possible) casualty of The Great Hinckley fire is Thomas H. "Boston" Corbett, or the man that's responsible for killing John Wilkes Booth, the man that killed Abraham Lincoln. this guy also appears in this book and assists Holmes during his investigation of Hinckley. i don't really know what to make of this, or will make much of a comment about it, but even The Great Hinckley Fire wikipedia page mentions this guy, so it felt notable to point out. a history lesson for another time, perhaps.

the review and analysis, aka the reason im writing about this book despite not remembering it that much

ok so this is where i explain myself a little bit more. i will be honest: i did not like this book that much. i feel like i can pare down the reason why to a single phrase as well: this book feels like it was written by a man. i'll try to elaborate on this as best i can since yknow, Arthur Conan Doyle was famously also a man and i don't have a problem with the way he writes.

ACD writes in a really dry fashion. it was the style of the time but his writing had to be exceedingly efficient. he wrote short stories that had to fit on a certain amount of pages, so he had to cram as much detail as he could into each story while still making things approachable and understandable. that leads to scenes that entirely focus on dialogue, people recalling information, or short descriptions of physical clues in the room. even his novels are considerably short, where extraneous details are laid to the wayside or implied so that the mystery can be the focus of the mystery. this for one creates problems when people try to write pastiches that are twice or three times the length of ACD's work.

the way that ACD writes Holmes and Watson is maybe something that only becomes apparent to me after consuming much of the canon, but something that i fixate on about both of them is that they are incredibly compassionate people. Watson is a doctor, he has incredible patience and a desire to understand people, but he makes judgements quick. Holmes on the other hand deeply understands people and attempts to accommodate them and comfort them at any turn, but he is an analytical mind. it's very easy to fall into the popular characterizations- Watson as a bumbling fool and Holmes as a cold calculating knife- but their characters across multiple stories portray them displaying kindness to most people they encounter, despite the line of work that they participate in.

i think of the moments of the original canon where Holmes comforts an upset witness, trying to get them to focus their thoughts, i think of the Holmes that values human life and does his best to help his clients who are often in desperate need of his help. people like to make his characterization out to be a snide and superior kind of person, but he only acts that way when people challenge him or he can tell they are lying to his face. if people are honest with him, he returns the kindness. that's the kind of man Holmes is.

Watson is a doctor, of course he has to have some care and compassion for people. throughout many of the stories Watson is the emotional balance weight that fills in the space where Holmes can't if he's distracted or occupied. throughout the Sign of Four, Watson is deeply concerned with the wellbeing of Mary Morston and makes sure she's accommodated for, even though Mary has incredible constitution despite her circumstances. Watson is a man that wants to believe the best in anyone unless they show evidence to the contrary. he trusts his eyes and experiences and above all trusts Holmes' judgement, having the experience to know that Holmes acts with the best interest of all parties involved in mind.

in The Red Demon, Watson is belligerent and irritable and Holmes is inconsiderate and a misogynist. these versions of these characters feel like they're expressing some form of strict masculinity, where anger and carelessness are the driving force of character. there are various points throughout The Red Demon where Watson expresses to the reader that he's frustrated with Holmes' behavior and actions and rather than vocalize his concerns to his friend, he bottles them up and fumes. at another part of the story, Holmes threatens and yells at a woman working at a brothel for information. it was actually really hard to keep in mind that these two characters are thought of as lifelong companions, regardless of how you view their relationship otherwise. they seem to be at each other's throats most of the time they're in the same room together for one reason or another.

a divergent characterization of Holmes and Watson would not be unwelcome to me i will say. the original stories provide such a limited scope of their personalities that a novel three times the length of a short story would obviously be able to provide a larger context to their character and explore their characterization in different ways. however, the characterization of Holmes and Watson are presented as such stereotypical men. i would love to sit and have a conversation with ACD's Watson. i would not want to be within 10 feet of Millett's Watson.

i mentioned it earlier in my summary, but Watson is nearly sexually assaulted as well. i apologize for my dive into this, but it is important to point out as it relates to my overall thesis of this book. rather than include Watson in on the interview with the brothel owner, Holmes leaves Watson in the company of two women who work at the brothel as some means of distraction i guess???? the text does not get explicit nor implies that Watson is raped, the women grope him and undress him while he continually protests that he is married and wants no part of "enjoying their services".

i am usually forgiving of scenes in a book even if i find them repulsive in content if they at least contribute to the overall narrative of the story, but i believe the only contribution that this scene makes is that one of the women steals Watson's gun while he's being undressed. there are a million other ways that his gun could've been stolen without this entire uncomfortable scene. i loathe to say that a scene like this "could only be written by a man" but i think people would hard pressed to disagree with me in the ways that sexual assault and rape is treated when the victim is male is often culturally different than when it is someone that is not male. i condemn assault and rape regardless of the sex or gender of the perpetrator, everyone can be a victim of this heinous act and it should be treated with the same severity, but the fact this book was written over 20 years ago and this scene being included is not lost on me.

i appear to have forgotten a lot of the scenes that exist with the brothel otherwise, and i can't recall specifics, but i don't believe that the overall treatment of the women working there was represented in any positive light either. i seem to remember something the brothel owner said about how the girls there have no where else to go and no other future besides working for her as prostitutes. i will state that the brothel and the treatment of the women within were moments where i deeply considered dropping the book.

after the divergent characterization and that scene that left me sour, there's also the matter of the culprit of the case. i can't pull up the name of the culprit, but despite his crimes, the man is in the right. he as an individual was crushed under the weight of capitalism. his wife died and the railway company was so very obviously at fault. he gained no retribution for what happened to him. the railway baron Hill even comments in the text how often he is sued by people that die due to the activities surrounding his railway, and how even more he is able to squash them by simply being the bigger entity in the monetary sense, or things are settled outside of court where he always remains on top. needless to say, THIS FUCKING SUCKS DUDE! forgive my language, i'm trying to keep these reviews as clean as possible, but this is so infuriating! especially in the scope of the corporate capitalist nightmare of the current United States where the lower class workforce is crushed under the weight of billionaires, i sympathized with the culprit. in the story, Holmes resolves to still apprehend this man despite learning the circumstances of the case.

that's another point that plays into the mischaracterization of Millett's Holmes. ACD's Holmes would pursue the culprit but would always give them the chance to explain themselves, to understand why they acted the way they did. "sympathy" is not the correct word but rather more on the side of Holmes expressing compassion for his fellow man. Holmes was always patient and always listened, he wanted to give everyone a chance and learn all the facts he could before leaping into action. when Holmes made mistakes, he would express his remorse to Watson about not acting differently in hindsight or would state that he wished he could have changed his behavior to lead to different ending events. as far as i remember, Millett's Holmes does not express this at the end of this story. he collects his sizable reward from Hill. and that's the end of it. i find that disgusting.

if all of this talk of the portrayal of the characterization of Holmes sounds familiar, that's not without reason. during the period before the release of the Enola Holmes (2020) movie, there was a lawsuit put forth by the Conan Doyle Estate over the personality of Holmes as written in the movie, specifically noting that his capability of compassion was something that was still under the estate's copyright, due to the last stories written after 1920 are still under copyright. the lawsuit was dismissed due to personality traits of a character being determined as non-copyrightable. thankfully (and something i'm going to celebrate) those final stories go into public domain fully January 1st, 2023. (i have been wanting to wrap my hands around the Adventure of the Three Garridebs for like two years now.)

that was a lot of critique bordering on complaining, here's my conclusion

so… after all that, i didn't like the book. i started this review with pointing out my own biases, and through my critique i believe i presented even more of my biases. my dislike of the book is not an argument that it is a "bad" book however. it has a multitude of things i had problems with and at times i almost dropped it, but i wanted to consider it as a full work rather than judging it upon pieces that i found uncomfortable. there was no relief from this feeling, and the book still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but it is in the end… still a manner of taste.

what i find though looking at the reviews for this book online are that i'm apparently in the minority. people trend to giving this book a 3-4/5 stars on this book. they enjoy it! and i'm not going to harsh their vibe on enjoying a book that i didn't, but a grand majority of the reviews from the goodreads page and the storygraph reviews paint this pastiche as something unique and faithful to the canon.

for everything this book is and isn't, it is unintentionally a large inspiration for Study in Spectrum. after i finished that book i was trying to unravel why i disliked it, why did certain things sit so negatively with me, why i felt so strongly about it. i tried to explain my feelings over twitter but the character limits really held me back on explaining my thoughts to the fullest extent. i also feared that because Millett also lives in Minnesota, he'd somehow find my twitter account and then find me personally and be mad at me for not liking his book so vocally.

i'm going to be very honest here. Mr. Millett, if you somehow find this review of your book, i will say i plan on consuming more of them at the recommendation from reviews that your other Sherlock Holmes stories are better and hope you improve the content of your writing over time. i respect you as a creator and i am glad you are still writing to this day. also this is not a joke, i would love to interview you about your views on the character of Sherlock Holmes and what inspired you to write these books beyond adding a Holmesian spin on some notable historical events in Minnesota history. send me a DM on twitter or email me!

going off of my storygraph review of The Red Demon, i give this book a 5/10 ( i gave it 2.5 stars).

the next book in the series is Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders and this audio book cover is the single most horrifying cover i've seen in like years dude. uhh don't look it up if you have a fear of distorted faces or possibly scopophobia. look out for that review where i will be a little bit more thorough and purposeful with my summary.

thanks for reading!

(mirror on bearblog)